L4D: The Reasons We Run
by DesselPop
Summary: Join Michael and Iris as they battle Infected and try to survive. They will meet some peculiar characters along the way. Some L4D and L4D2 characters will make cameos. Warning, sex, extreme violence, dark themes, and foul language. Also hilarious parts. Written for a literary class.


**_I do not own Left for Dead, only my characters and the story line._**

**A/N: Ok so I may not be the best writer, but my friends and family said this was pretty good. So after weeks of constant revision, here is the first chapter of my story The Reasons We Run. The title won't make since for a little while. Oh and I would like to thank Linkin' Park for making the killer song that inspired this story. M rating comes in later. If you are uncomfortable with sex, violence, or foul language among underage people DO NOT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY KEEP READING. Now without further ado, here's my story.**

**Chapter 1**

**Infected on the Streets**

A fifteen-year-old boy runs through the dark street with bodies everywhere. He runs into a dead end. Knowing he's trapped he turns, facing the horde of Infected rushing toward him. Suddenly, a door opens to his left, and a purple-haired girl shouts, "Over here!"

The boy rushes to her and makes it into the room just before the Horde crashes into the metal door, pounding and scratching on it. The boy looks at the girl who answers his unspoken question, "They can't get through the door. It's made with reinforced steel."

He nods. The girl says, "My name is Iris. What's your name?"

The boy says, "My name is Michael."

"Where are your parents?"

He looks at her with sad blue eyes, and softly says, "We were in our house when those things attacked us. Dad got his gun, and started shooting them while mom and I ran to our truck. Dad must've hit a gas pipe because the house blew up in flames. Mom screamed and stopped running, and the things attacked her. I kept running and I didn't stop. Then I got to the end of the street, and those things were about to get me. If you hadn't opened your door, I would've been a goner."

"I couldn't stand by and watch someone else die by those freaking Infected."

Michael looks at her curiously. "Why did you call them Infected instead of Zombies?"

"Because they aren't really dead, just Infected with what CDC calls the 'Green Flu.'"

Michael looks at Iris, studying her carefully. "Staring is rude, don't you know that?"

"Sorry, I was just getting a good look at your face. I noticed your eyes are grey. Why is that?"

"I'm color blind from chemicals that got in my eyes. It turned my eyes this color. It sucks but there's nothing I can do about it." She paused, "How old are you?"

"I turned fifteen last month."

"I'm fifteen also."

Michael smiles for the first time in a while. Iris smiled back at him, and got up to look out the window. "We'll stay here for a while, until we run out of supplies, but then we have to leave."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you have a pistol I can use?"

"I've got tons of guns here. I've got a .9mm automatic, a .45Cal, and a .357Magnum, .38Cal."

"I'll take the .357Magnum. Do you have any melee weapons?"

"I have a metal bat."

"It'll come in handy."

Iris gets up and walked over to a computer that still had working internet. She went to her Pandora® account and put on a hard rock station. "New Divide" by Linkin' Park came on.

_I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me._

Iris sits back down, looking at Michael.

_I remembered each flash, as time began to blur._

She thought about something for a second before walking over and sitting by him.

_Like a startling sign, that fate had finally found me._

She searched his face for a sign of what he thought about her.

_And your voice was all I heard._

Michael looked at the young woman currently sitting in front of him, wondering what she was thinking.

_That I get what I deserve._

_So give me reason, to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean. Let the thoughts cross, the distance in your eyes._

_Give me reason, to fill this hole, connect this space between._

_Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies, across this new divide._

Their thinking is interrupted when they hear banging from the back room. "Did you ever check your back room for Infected?"

Iris grabs her gun and throws him his. They approach the room cautiously. They hear coughing coming from within the room. They exchange a look and knock on the door. They hear shuffling around and more coughing. They open the door and a tongue wraps around Iris' body pulling her into the dark room. Michael shouts in surprise before running into the room, seeing what grabbed her was another Infected. He rams into the creature, knocking it to the ground. He then stomps his foot down on its skull continuously until Iris pulls him off it.

"_¿Qué demonios fue eso?_"

"I'm going to assume you asked what that was."

Michael nods. Iris continues, "I call those things 'Smokers', on account of their cough. They wrap their tongues around you and pull you towards them so they can scratch you. I call the ones that are different 'Special Infected' and the others 'Common Infected'. Trust me it gets worse."

"Well we've certainly had an eventful day!" he pauses, "How about we get some sleep?"

Iris realizes there's only one bed in the building. "Do you have spare blankets that I can lay on the floor."

He follows her to the closet and grabs blankets to lie down on and cover up with. They both say goodnight and fall asleep fast.

When they awoke, they gathered supplies and weapons, ready to leave this destroyed town. They headed out into the morning light to look for a drivable vehicle, finally finding a large black truck. They get in and find the keys in the visor. Michael starts the truck and they drive off, not looking back at the town where they both grew up.

**A/N: So please R&R and all that good stuff that helps me make the story. I will try to hurry on the second chapter, but I've got college to worry about as well. Thank you for reading. See you next time. If you need to directly talk to me email me at desselpop **


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